News by Subject Chemistry & Physics

Researchers have discovered the root cause of why lithium metal batteries fail -- bits of lithium metal deposits break off from the surface of the anode during discharging and are trapped as 'dead' lithium that the battery can no longer cycle. The discovery challenges a long-held belief in the field about lithium metal battery failure. The study presents new ways to boost battery performance, bringing research a step closer to incorporating lithium anodes into rechargeable batteries.

A new rechargeable high voltage manganese dioxide zinc battery, exceeding the 2 V barrier in aqueous zinc chemistry, is the latest invention by City College of New York researchers. With a voltage of 2.45-2.8V, the alkaline MnO2|Zn battery, developed by Dr. Gautam G. Yadav and his group in the CCNY-based CUNY Energy Institute, could break the long dominance of flammable and expensive lithium (Li)-ion batteries in the market.

Columbia scientists designed organic molecules capable of generating two excitons per photon of light, a process called singlet fission. The excitons can live for much longer than those generated from their inorganic counterparts, which leads to an amplification of electricity generated per photon that is absorbed by a solar cell.

With billions of years of practice, nature has created the most energy efficient machines. One, [Ne-Fi] hydrogenase, is the oldest in microorganisms and is used for hydrogen metabolism. Using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, researchers at Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST) reveal the proton transfer pathway of this enzyme, a discovery expected to contribute to new biofuel cells.

In a perspective published in Joule on Aug. 14, a group of researchers led by Stanford University propose a new academic discipline, 'macro-energy systems,' as the science of the energy transition.

The amount of water injected for conventional oil and gas production exceeds that from high-volume hydraulic fracturing and other unconventional oil and gas production by more than a factor of 10, according to a new report. Conventional methods of oil and gas production have been used since the late 1800s. An assessment of the environmental impacts of the petroleum industry should examine the conventional production methods, as well as fracking.